Upland: Redone
Upland is a 3D-animated action/adventure fantasy drama film. Synopsis An evil cultist banishes the warriors of Upland to various floating archipelagos based on geological eras of the Earth. The Upland warriors must reunite under the leadership of Dillon and Tanner Emeril, now equipped with the technologies of their given period. Upland Warriors Parents Guide Sex & Nudity * There are innuendoes regarding “dropping bombs/mines”. * Many female warriors wear tight and/or revealing clothing, but it is not intended to be sexual. * Some of the female characters speak in a seductive tone, such as Sword Sprite and the Drow Priestess. Violence & Gore * The film is set in a perpetual war between the Upland Warriors and the Black Parable. The Upland Warriors frequently kill soldiers of the Black Parable, including bugbears, robots/golems, drow elves, and huge insects. Likewise, the Black Parable is intent on genociding the Upland Warriors (although they don't succeed). The Upland Warriors try not to kill whenever possible, although it does happen at certain points. * Dragons breathe fireballs and other energies to burn their enemies alive (the enemy soldiers are caught on fire but injury detail is not apparent), water creatures use water-based attacks and formations made of ice to attack their foes, and rock monsters throw stones at troopers. * Guns/weapons: Firearms (modern and otherwise), blades, and other weapons are used by the Upland Warriors. Antagonist characters use bladed weapons, mechs, and armored trains against their adversaries. * Characters are rarely killed on-screen, with the camera often cutting away before they die. However, some villainous characters are burned alive, crushed, bludgeoned, dismembered, and impaled by bladed weaponry onscreen (no blood is depicted). * Robots/golems, insect-like monsters, suits of armor, and undead creatures (including human zombies) are dismembered, but injury detail isn't depicted. * Most of the blood in the film is green and comes from giant insects and arachnids. Depictions of human blood and bleeding are very infrequent. * In a few scenes, ground turrets are used to fire at flying gunships and airships; large explosions are depicted as a result, and we occasionally cut to the interior as the explosions occur (similar to Star Wars). * A catacomb filled with the skeletons of babies is depicted; one is stated to be the result of a futuristic abortion. * The protagonist, Dillon, is a failed abortion; this is mentioned and referenced throughout the film. The most we see is Dillon’s mother taking pills, but the theme of abortion is still pretty disturbing. Profanity * The word "hell" is used countless times, often in reference to characters (Hellfire Hydra), weapons ("shells full of hell," "arrows imbued with the heat of hell,") and locations (the climax of the film is actually located in hell). * Some double entendres are used, such as "ash" (ass) and "carp" (crap). Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking * Tankards, mugs, and bottles of alcoholic beverages are depicted and consumed. A noir scene briefly depicts a man drinking from a moonshine jug, before blowing on it. * A few characters smoke cigars in the film; this includes heroic characters, such as the Upland warriors. * Dillon’s mother is seen taking mifepristone in an attempt to abort her unborn son (Dillon survives). Frightening/Intense Scenes * The film is much like the animated works of Disney and Pixar but taken to a PG-13 level. As such, violence and disturbing themes are emphasized further, but not to the extent of most PG-13 animated films (such as Ghost in the Shell). * A recurring theme in the film is abortion; the protagonist explains his bitter nature halfway through the film, bluntly stating that he is a failed abortion (we see his mother taking pills in attempts to abort him, but this doesn't work). Near the climax, Dillon claims that he wants to kill everyone who aborts their children (he takes this back later, but it's still very unsettling). In another scene, a crypt full of baby skeletons is depicted, and they are stated to be the result of a futuristic abortion (one of them is stated to be an alternate version of Dillon Emeril). * The film is very likely to frighten young and/or sensitive viewers, with depictions of dark areas, giant spiders, demonic creatures, and the undead. The zombies are particularly realistic and decomposed-looking; they try to tear apart the Upland Warriors with their teeth and claws (none of the heroes die). Charybdis, the Drow Giants, and many other monsters that work for the Black Parable may be seen as frightening. * Falchion Fire's backstory involves him getting permanently attached to his suit of armor and becoming involuntarily immortal; Falchion's decayed face is visible when he flips up his visor. * One of the warriors, Easter Eggs, lays eggs full of ghost chicks that she commands to attack her enemies. Easter explains how this works in a fairly poignant scene, revealing that her children were killed and that they can only return for her aid in combat. There is some connection between this and the themes of abortion mentioned above. * Many Upland Warriors almost die and are genuinely distressed when they fail their objectives. Behind the Scenes * Upland, initially named Dragon Monarchy, was originally created to ”get in a lawsuit with Activision”, with many similarities to Skylanders noted. The idea of “getting in a lawsuit” came to Brendan after he saw a Mixels Wiki blog post about someone’s idea that was very similar to Mixels. One of the commenters claimed that the blog writer was likely to get sued by Cartoon Network if they went through with their idea, and Brendan decided that he want to get in a lawsuit. * Many elements of the film are inspired by Skylanders, Terraria, and games made by Blizzard Entertainment (most notably Overwatch). * Due to Brendan’s inexperience in developing games without using a tutorial, Upland was turned from a video game to a movie. * Several of the characters in the film are similar to preexisting characters in other films and video games; the Upland Warriors are based on Skylanders characters, the Drow Leader and Priestess are respectively based on Soldier 76 and Widowmaker from Overwatch, and the Drow Giants are based on Doomsday from DC Comics and the Drow Goliaths from Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. Category:Trigger Happy the Gremlin Category:Video Games Category:Upland Category:Upland: Redone Category:Action Adventure Category:Time travel